Information retrieval systems such as the Internet have given users unparalleled access to information from a wide variety of sources. However, in many cases, the information is not indexed or categorized in any meaningful way. Even for information systems which provide an abstract, summary, key words, or indexing of materials contained in the system, users may only be able to perform limited key word searches on the materials and may find it extremely difficult to locate and categorize information in an efficient and organized way.
State of the art key word searches are still primitive. A user is typically presented with a blank screen or prompt and asked to type individual key words or a short phrase to search for. While key word searches may find some relevant materials, a large number of irrelevant materials are often generated and relevant materials are missed. In addition, the user is required to know the typical terms, phrases, alternate spellings and abbreviations associated with the information category being searched. The user may be given some options on limiting the search to various broad sections of the information retrieval system (e.g. the web, usenet, gopher servers, WAIS databases, etc.), but still may end up searching and producing vast numbers of references which are not relevant. The user may also be given the option of controlling the search through the use of boolean operators such as AND, OR, and NOT, and wildcard operators and root expanders such as * and !, but these still require a sophisticated user with a detailed knowledge of the subject matter to be searched.
The results of a key word search are also primitive and may not be presented to the user in any meaningful way. Entries are typically presented chronologically or by a percentage factor which looks only at how many of the search key words were found in the entry. Further, the relationships which exist between individual entries of the search results may not be apparent to the user. The user may also be limited in extracting information from the search results and using those results to refine or create subsequent searches.
Therefore, there is a need for a way to search information retrieval systems in an efficient and meaningful way without requiring that a user be an expert in the search technology. There is a further need for a way to report the results of a search in an organized fashion which presents the information by categories and illustrates relationships between entries. There is also a need for a way to enable a user to extract information from the search results and use those results to refine or create subsequent searches.